Lost Cheeki Rafiki Crew Members Paid Tribute Through RNLI Fundraising

The friends and family of the tragically lost Cheeki Rafiki crew have started a RNLI fundraising appeal in their loved ones’ memory. The families of Andrew Bridge, James Male, Paul Goslin and Steve Warren have also released a statement thanking everyone who signed the petition to re-start the search.

We would like to say how indebted we are to the public for its overwhelming and unprecedented support. In the end this petition gained 240,000 signatures. That is equivalent to the population of a city the size of Southampton. This has helped quell our distress somewhat, but in particular Paul, Steve, James and Andrew would have been enormously touched to have known that they were in the minds of so many people. It would have brought them great comfort in their moment of need and could, just could, have made a vital difference in saving their lives had the circumstances only been different.

Hope of finding the four men 1000 miles off the coast of Cape Cod faded when the capsized yacht was recovered with its life raft still on board late last month. The four sailors were on their way home from Antigua Sailing Week when disaster struck.

To pay tribute to the Cheeki Rafiki crew, friends and family will be participating in the Round Britain and Ireland race, an event the sailors were planning towards. This tribute will also raise money for the RNLI, the charity dedicated to saving lives at sea. So far the online donation page has reached £20,000 of donations, far surpassing the £5,000 target.